Judo In Montenegro

The more we analyse what

The more we analyse what we know from the past, the more we are certain that today we are looking for answers to questions as old as mankind itself. All the knowledge of those from the past who we call sages and who were able to grasp higher levels is about the eternal quest for truth and meaning. One of these sages was certainly professor Jigoro Kano (1860-1938), who we consider the creator of modern judo. He founded the school Kodokan in 1882 (the Institute of Studying the Way) in which a new way called Judo was exercised (ju – soft, gentle, flexible; do – way, method, principle). This way of exercising is actually one of many ways for human improvement, a way taken to obtain an insight into onself and others. This is why this is not only a story about the history of a sport in Montenegro and my experience, but much more – it is a story about how one way of life from the Far East has been embraced in Montenegro and about the results it has produced. There are many examples to prove that ideas can outlive those who conceived them. Judo is one of them. At the very beginning of that 1882, in a gym which symbolically paved the way one was to study, in a “school of equals”, the founder of modern judo, prof. Jigoro Kano had only nine students. Today, judo is an Olympic sport practiced worldwide by millions of people who accept its principles to guide their life. An interesting fact is that, on its way from Japan, this idea has „overcome“ all obstacles that could have hindered its expansion. No dogmatic, national, political or other barrier or difference was strong enough to prevent people from gathering around it. This is why this humanized idea is considered as a way of life by its followers, as one of the many ways that lead to grasping the truth and the meaning which are sought by man. In this book, I have described how prof. Kano’s idea “travelled“ from Japan t o Montenegro, where today it is very well accepted, just as it used to be then. The data regarding the history of judo sport in Montenegro have been obtained from the most import participants in the course of events, the available documentation and literature. Unlike many who have undertaken a similar task, while writing about judo in Montenegro, I have had the advantage of being an active participant of the events concerned since 1968. Acquaintance and friendship with the other participants of the events enabled me to write this story.

At the same time, this is a story about people who have dedicated most of their youth to the noble idea of judo sport out of love and who have enjoyed the pleasures it has brought them. Some of these people, even 45 years after the arrival of judo in Montenegro, contribute to bringing closer the judo idea to all those who want to improve themselves in accordance with its principles. Despite the amount of available data, events from the past can never be fully described. This is why this story is basically my account of them, not exhaustive, open to be continued.